GARDEN CARE SIMPLIFIED my first hand experience with Terrace Container Gardening over the years with original photographs is shared in this Blog as also simple practical tips for flowering in varieties of plants. My Terrace garden plants are a part of my family, I care for them with food, water and lots of love and spanking!and they bless me with lovely blooms!
This is my passion, I Do not sell plants! Happy Gardening!

Search This Blog

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

If you can't and do not have the time or success in growing plants, do at least this!You can add up pieces of nature in your home by adding some dried tree branches and also some original flower paintings or photographs.
Being human means to be connected to nature. You will never find harmony and peace if you do not have a part of nature in your home. It feels magical try it, add up some florals!
Always remember the best feng shuii energy is of live growing plants, nothing can replace this, yes, you can add up other energies but original growing plants are the best! happy gardening!Thank you very much , each one of you, readers, followers, plant lovers, for your love, comments, respect for Garden Care Simplified over the years and I hope you will keep sharing and supporting garden care simplified in the coming years!The blog began with my intention to spread knowledge to terrace gardeners to help save container growing plants and encourage blooming.I have to my best knowledge shared from my heart experiences and practical tips as I have learnt over the years. as we are shifting soon to a larger space, without an open terrace, I am excited to make a new garden , an entrance garden,, a passage garden, that is the space the Universe has given me, and lets see how we make this passage garden magical!

The rituals of Christmas are very important for me each year, this is not just a festival of gift sharing and feasting. it is much more...letting go of past, and welcoming a new life. old behaviors, past failures, and refurbishing garden containers by a coat of paint or adding some new planters and plants. Our Tree, the Gulmohar Tree that is with us since past seventeen years, she is family! With my right hand palm hairline fracture, things were difficult, but did not leave the ritual of repainting our tree, did this with left hand, and our Golden tree was ready for Christmas! she is with us since years , when we did not have a terrace pent house garden, there was just a small window garden!

My little space under the sun...which I have to leave....

Best plants for Christmas, overflowing is our Snow Queen! snow daisy bush is very beautiful with the crown of white leaves, a true queen, against the blue winter sky!
Button roses, roses are at their best!

Snow Daisy bush Snow Queen

Button roses at their best Garden Care Simplified

Keep some greens around, they will work wonders to your health and wealth!Activate Feng Shuii prosperity luck with green!the Pantone color of year 2017 Greenery, Growth! If you cant plant, add some photographs of original plants and flowers, or flower paintings that will keep you connected with Gaia, mother earth energy!

If you have chanced upon my page from Google
search, Please do share ,You may not need it but this plant advice and
gardening tips can help some one on verge of giving up
gardening!Save a lot of plant lives and loads of money!

Thursday, December 14, 2017

Parijaat, with its heavenly fragrance is at its best with onset of winters. One of the most auspicious trees in Hinduism, Parijaat is often called the tree of Gods.

Fragrant Parijaat

It is said that Lord Krishna stole a branch of this tree from the kingdom if Indra and brought it to earth. And kunti used to offer these to lord Shiva. The Indian Coral tree.Night flowering coral Jasmine. Parijaata, divine tree, tree of Paradise. While the symbolism is very strong in Indian Mythology, the tree does not grow in all places. While I have tried to plant this tree many times with cuttings, not yet successful. We have three huge trees in our society campus garden.The trees of Parijaata are so beautiful, and the fragrance is quite strong, citric, divine, refreshing. The happiness is immense, as a small sapling has sprung up in my terrace garden container. A heavenly blessing, an unexpected gift from the Universe!!! Thank you for coming by Garden Care Simplified!!!

The Tree of Gods Parijaat

All the Best, Have a Merry Christmas, and A Great 2018 Ahead!!! ( inspired by these flowers, is "Fragrant Harmony" a spiritual calligraphy artwork Enchanting Garden)

If you have chanced upon my page from Google
search, Please do share ,You may not need it but this plant advice and
gardening tips can help some one on verge of giving up
gardening!Save a lot of plant lives and loads of money!

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Super Moon was so large, we missed viewing this due to cyclone Ockhi and with this was a sudden drop in temperatures with strong winds and rainfall on December 2,3,4. So my terrace garden plants were in for a shock with unexpected showers in winter!
Mogra suddenly seemed to have dropped most leaves and as the huge leaves, it has grown quiet healthy and wide,(for all those who have missed my garden rants over the years-this plant was sick when we bought it, ten years back, and while anyone else would have thrown it as dead, I removed each of the red mites using a stick from its roots , manually, and since then this plant has given me very big sized abundant mogra blooms , twice or thrice every year ) so one of my favourites,.
As winter sets in people get scared that their plants are dying, with leaf dropping fast and sometimes the mogra plant may also go barren. The reason is winter sets in and the plants go in hibernation. As most of us think the plant is sick and add more water, this is one action that must be avoided. More watering is harmful during winter and is easy for pests and fungus to attack roots and plant stems.

Dried Mogra Plant

It is a natural process. do water your plants , but see that the top portion is a bit dry , only then add water. Do not skip watering. plants seem happy but the soil gets hardened in winter and they need water. Leaf drop is a normal sign with onset of winter.
The super moon we saw on the previous day was quite large, majestic and huge.Against the black sky its presence was seen as I looked from my little space under the sun.
Full moon times, growing phase of moon, are considered auspicious in feng shuii and with healers as it is the maximum white light energy. Another aspect of super moon, full moon is it is strongest feminine energy and can benefit women, females if they with pure heart and sincere intentions, desire, wish at such times.

Huge Moth

I have seen a lot of butterflies in my garden recently. Maybe its time for them to lay eggs, I used to love these magical butterflies, till a few years back when they ate up leaves of most of my plants and then we had these two finger sized large orange black caterpillars walking in our home! tat was when I got scared, and got an panic attack.
Mogra plants drop leaves and may seem barren but their roots are intact. keep the acre like everyday for the winter season and never skip watering. Avoid trimming plants during winter, and within few days they will pick up growth with fresh lime green tiny leaves coming up. It is a process of purification, change, and rest for the plants as soon now they will give flowers. Mogra plants are one of the best fragrant flowering plants, we have different varieties of fragrant jasmines, I love their heavenly fragrance!
Butterflies are symbols of hope, change and angel support, they bring messages from our guides and be with us. We got sixths really huge Moth visitor , I had to click this as it merges in the woods so dramatically, we hardly notice this , until we take a very close look. Universe is Amazing with its wonders!
Cyclone Ockhi as it passes , has brought unexpected showers and cold winds here. With the sudden rain coming with cyclone ockhi my terrace garden has got a fresh life of green and the plants that had dropped leaves are suddenly looking happy as it spring has come!!!

Floral Photo Collage Rizwana Mundewadi

With winter in my garden the Allamnda plant is also at rest, so made a photo collage of its beautiful majestic blooms, photos of flowers from my garden are and will be precious memories when I shift from here to another home. As the progress is going on, ideas for a entry way garden are coming up, so within few months we will have a new garden with new experiences!

don't
forget to connect on my Face Book Group with the same name. Garden Care
Simplified! Like , share comment, for the love of Gardening!

If you love my Garden Care Simplified do
subscribe to my latest post alerts by following me and my Garden
blog, and if you are interested in feng shuii, Reiki healing and symbols
do subscribe to my newsletters on my website www.razarts.com!

If you have chanced upon my page from Google
search, Please do share ,You may not need it but this plant advice and
gardening tips can help some one on verge of giving up
gardening!Save a lot of plant lives and loads of money!

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Am I a serial killer? are you a serial killer? its official now! I have killed so many plants, thinking about this brings sadness to my heart.Brahma Kamal plants at present are surviving, on our window sill, I just have to stop caring for them, very less watering , just not bothered whether I see the blooms or not, enough!
While more than fifteen years with gardening experience, container gardening, I am a very impatient soul, yet with innocent love all my terrace garden plants, they do bloom and most , in fact almost all are happy with me except succulents. I just see the plants photo and immediately know what it wants! or what is its condition.
There are not always successes and I admit, I have lost too many succulents that I fear adding any now...the main problems is I have kept them together with the others. Strong sunlight, they don't like, too much water they repel from and trimming they don't need! so succulents are a different , totally aliens for me!
Now at present they are doing ok, they look dull, some one fresh leaf pops up at an end of a large leaves, but guess blooms are history!

Brahma Kamal plant

Birds in my terrace garden

flowering of Cordylines

Pink Anthurium Flowering

Pink star cluster

Agave Succulents

Lotus blooming in pond

White star cluster

White Anthurium

drying leaves of Brahma Kamal plant

pests disease in brahma kamal plant

new dried leaves of Brahma Kamal plant

dried soil for Brahma Kamal plants

soggy leaf of Brahma Kamal plant

My Brahma Kamal plants on window sill

My Brahma Kamla plants on terrace

its exciting when some one shares their experiences,their Brahma Kamal photographs and well, how blessed they feel with doing puja and offering this Awesum flower to God.
I imagine how that time would be...when I see a bud..I would break into a happy dance... and another long elongated tentacle with heavy plump buds...I would be soooo happy...on top of the world...then waiting for the bud to grow, as days pass by the brahma kamal bud will grow larger and larger...and there would be so much excitement in anticipation for the big night...the night when this flower will bloom...with its majestic beauty and presence of heavenly attributes the Brahma Kamal flower will bloom in my home and there would be no words to express , except feelings of being in the moment, most connected to the Universal life force, and enjoying this bliss! and I would share my happiness to the world, doing the happy dance!!! so waiting for these precious life magical moments...hope the Universe blesses me with at least one bloom in this lifetime!fingers crossed ..waiting...Reading a lot on succulents, lots of blogs, gardening blogs, experiences, watching you tube videos, guess one day will succeed in growing a blooming a Succulents garden!

If you have chanced upon my page from Google
search, Please do share ,You may not need it but this plant advice and
gardening tips can help some one on verge of giving up
gardening!Save a lot of plant lives and loads of money!

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Garden care Simplified , blogging and sharing my experiences since so many year and clicking photos is one of my favorite hobbies that has become my first love!

From each new leaf, to new plants and exotic blooms to clicks of flowers from travel destinations and amazing places of beauty I have always found that mobile phone photographs are the most easiest and also can be taken as many as we want.

Pink Hibiscus photo taken with mobile phone

Upper end mobiles do have high resolution images and it is also very handy with your mobile phone to click any flower photo you want immediately. We had a digital camera but most times we forget to carry it along and mobile phones with higher resolution photo quality are best from clicking garden flower photos.

Red roses photo taken with mobile phone

Yet after many years the old photos seem blurry, some have no subject focus, some lack clarity and some are dull. I have learned some few tips that can help you take good quality flower photos.
1) Mornings are the best time to click flower photos in your garden. Blooms become dull by afternoon as the sun rises more. Fragrant Jasmines that open during evenings are best to click at that time with partial evening glow of sunlight. You will get a heavenly white against golden glow of the indirect sun. Flash always needs to be off. Many of my flower photos look different with flash and I prefer to keep it off. In fact in bright sunlight you will get the best clicks outdoors!
2) Roses that look Awesum but most difficult to click. Take the click from an angle to get the details. Roses when clicked from a distance will not show the minute details so take photo of rose flowers from side, a bit tilted will give you a great click of rose flower.
3) During rains, after rains the best clicks , so refreshing with water droplets, another difficult thing to capture while taking flower photos with mobile phone. Keep your phone lens clean. Adjust the focus, as this gets blurry and foggy rains. It is worth if you get a little wet , but avoid umbrellas during clicking flower photos in rain.
4) the centre of the flowers, especially roses, close up, details of flowers are amazingly beautiful. you will want to click these with your mobile phone. Get the colours right by adjusting the focus . do not get too close a pictures appear blurry. Zoom a bit and then focus before clicking. Do not zoom too much as pictures come out with broken pixels.

adenium flower in rain photo clicked by mobile phone

5) Collection of flowers, flower arrangements and vases full of flowers are such a hot interesting subject to click. Focus on the composition. Take a section of the photo to click, if you want real clarity. Add some, minus some , choose the best composition from the available image. Single flowers are easier to click as compared to group or bunches of flowers.

If you have chanced upon my page from Google
search, Please do share ,You may not need it but this plant advice and
gardening tips can help some one on verge of giving up
gardening!Save a lot of plant lives and loads of money!

Monday, September 25, 2017

Boston fern, Nephrolepis exaltata one of the most easiest growing ornamental plants that has universal appeal and grows in any space. Our garden baskets always keep overflowing with this and at times I have to cut the long strands to keep a check on this.
A great feng shuii energy plant activating wealth and career , north luck, The Boston fern has not got its due respect.

Boston Fern Best Feng Shuii Plant

Frilly, lacy, wavy long strands of sheer happiness!some ferns also grow quite huge in wild jungles , maybe another variety of fern. Also known as fish bone fern. Grow them in your garden, grow them indoors and even your bathrooms can do with some great feng shuii purification energy with these beautiful Boston fern plants.
While people always say they are easy growing, some people find out this is not such an easy task!Their ferns died of sogginess, burnt leaves and over rooting!Some practical tips for growing healthy Boston fern plants.
1) Indoor plant, Boston fern can grow anywhere yet, it need partial sunbathing or light source to be fresh green. Too much sunglight will burn leaves fast.

My Friends from Heaven in my Terrace Garden

The small balls, bulbs, of Boston fern

2) It will get soggy if over watered and attracts fungus, white aphids, and ants will take over its roots. Water during early morning or evenings, as the leaves burn with watering during hot time.

Roots full in a Boston fern Basket

3) Check roots , it will soon grow over the basket. Keep checking and repot it to keep it fresh. otherwise you will see leaves drying.
4) The bulbs, small balls , oval shaped are important, they will make new plants. Be careful to not damage these while repotting.
5) Important practical tip, grow them in hanging baskets.

Overflowing basket of Boston fern

They love this and look Awesum!this also helps water drain well and the fronds look beautiful with swaying feng shuij energy that attracts wealth and opportunities.

If you have chanced upon my page from Google
search, Please do share ,You may not need it but this plant advice and
gardening tips can help some one on verge of giving up
gardening!Save a lot of plant lives and loads of money!

Monday, September 4, 2017

Jaipur Ajmer Udaipur a Exceptionally Awesum family trip, a much awaited family vacation after a long time, was refreshing and a real treat to all garden and plant lovers!
Not only will you find amazingly beautiful garden designing but also exceptionally rare and scientifically cool or warm gardens. Sahelion Ki Baari, Sheesh Mahal , Palaces, Udaipur Palace, gardens, Jagdish temple, lake Fatehsagar Udaipur is Fantastically serene and vast. Palaces, bazaars, gardens and of course Pink everywhere, hence it is known as the pink city and the city of lakes! There is also a Vintage cars collection that is open for viewing for car lovers!
Must visit tourist spots, we selected a few that are really beautiful we were on a short trip. Full of folk and ethnic culture, thoroughly enjoyed the Puppet show and the traditional attire dressing up, clicked tons of photos and loved best was the Amber Palace, Amer Palace. Gardens, Flowers, and Art, culture, paintings, Artefacts, Jaipur Udaipur, Rajashthan is full of folk culture and we are back with loads of happy memories adding up to my gemstones collection, bandhini silk , and with a little sad memory of a missing earring purchased at Amer Road Jaipur Haat shop, have emailed at Jaipur Haat, as there was a simple negligence on the part of the packer who packed the necklace set with a single earring ...I hope they send my missing earring by courier as a gesture of so many years of sharing traditional jewelry and art heritage.
The Kings were just amazing and I am awestruck by the scientific processes involved in making these Amazingly beautiful gardens. Do take a guide at every place if you want to understand the history and real culture of Jaipur and Udaipur.

Pink City Udaipur The City of lakes

Folk Culture Artefacts paintings Rajashtan Culture

Mesmerizing Gulab Baugh Udaipur

Best tourist destinations Jaipur Udaipur

Sahelion Ki Baari Udaipur Rizwana Mundewadi

Mesmerizing rains all year round, as the queen loved rains so she had a garden that would keep raining water, water fountain, all year round without any electricity. Natural water fountains with mesmerizing rain dropping music.
The most beautiful part, there were sections in the Sahelion ki baari, for hot seasons and cold seasons.The queen sure was spoilt for choice! each sector had tall trees and thick growth to keep cool during hot summers,,or low plants with open spaces to keep sun warmth during cold season.
Was awestruck with My Airavaat! he just seems to appear every place! White Marble elephant sculptures with trunks that poured beautiful sprays of water, beautiful water fountains with different pouts and different nozzles to give out natural water rain patterns.
Sentimental old nostalgic songs played at the Gulab Baug as we took the mini train joy ride in the vast palace garden.
A must visit for every plant garden lover, a real treat for a Gardener!
Meanwhile my garden is always taken care off by nature spirits, and this time with rains , excessive rains we are fully loaded with huge Allamanda flowers, chameli, mogra, roses, juhi jasmine, fire cracker, star cluster, peace lily, snow queen, red layered hibiscus and of course that yellow flower! I feel so sad to see these growing blooms that are huge and drooping over the container plants and they bear the heavy winds and rains and add up so much beauty to my garden, feeling really really blessed by the blessings of Mother Earth, the Universe has everything in abundance, you just have to tap this!

Measured Size photograph of Maroon Pink Allamanda flowers
Have a Great Day from Rizwana!

don't forget to connect on my Face Book Group with the same name. Garden
Care Simplified! Like , share comment, for the love of Gardening!

If you have chanced upon my page from Google
search, Please do share ,You may not need it but this plant advice and
gardening tips can help some one on verge of giving up
gardening!Save a lot of plant lives and loads of money!